Hot summer predicted in the UK

HOT weather forecast: Summer 2018 SCORCHER as Britain to be hit by 4 MONTHS of blazing sun

A RECORD-breaking Bank Holiday scorcher will dish up a taste of things to come over the next few weeks with a blowtorch heatwave tipped to kick off summer. Freakishly high temperatures are forecast through June as the nation gears up for the first decent holiday season in years.

The Express,

8 May, 2018

Long-range predictions point towards an even hotter August with lengthy bursts of blazing sunshine possible until autumn.

It comes as Britain enjoys a belting bank holiday weekend with sunshine and blue skies expected to hold out for several days after.

A colossal area of high pressure stretching from the Atlantic across Britain into Scandinavia will dominate the weather into next week.

Hot air from the tropical Azores Islands will drive the initial warmth before a change in wind direction brings a plume of red hot air up from the Continent.

The Southeast will hold on to the hottest weather after the weekend and possibly into the middle of the month, according to some experts.

A nationwide cool-down during the second half of May will give sweltering Britons a breather before the next roasting wave of heat arrives.

James Madden, forecaster for Exacta Weather, said: “Currently June looks like starting on quite a warm and sunny note.

“We expect this to continue through the first half of June and there are increasing signals for a potential warm to hot spell of weather towards the last week of the month.

“Some of these warm to hot periods could become hampered by cloud cover at times giving a muggy feel to affairs and broken up by some thunderstorm activity.

We could see temperatures approaching the mid 30Cs across the southern half of the country

“We expect June temperatures to be at more near to above-average for the month, with near-average rainfall amounts.”

Britons could be wrapping up for a cooler spell of wetter in July weather before a record-busting August heatwave, he added.

After years of miserable summer washouts this year could bring the long-awaited barbecue summer Britons have been waiting for.

Mr Madden said: “Despite some unsettled and cooler periods we expect some prolonged and lengthy periods of fine weather.

“We could look back on this summer and say it wasn't a bad one.

"There is a medium to high potential for an exceptionally hot August after any cooler or unsettled weather has shifted out of the way.

“We could see temperatures approaching the mid 30Cs across the southern half of the country.”

Hot weather this weekend saw records for the Bank Holiday tumble with the 1999 May Day record of 23.6C (74.48F) smashed, as the mercury in Northolt, west London, reached 28.7C (83.6F) on Monday, making it the hottest early May Bank Holiday weekend on record, the Met Office said.

The south will enjoy the best of the sunshine although temperatures will soar well above-average across much of England and Wales.

Hot weather will hang on across the southeast into next week with temperatures likely to stay widely above normal for the time of year.

UK weather: Britain will be hit by glorious weather this weekendWX CHARTS

UK weather: Britain will be hit by glorious weather this weekend

The far northwest of Scotland and Northern Ireland will miss out on the scorcher with cooler winds and rain on the way.

However temperature in northeastern Scotland will be given a boost by winds sweeping over the mountains.

So-called Foehn winds occur when a westerly airflow reach mountainous regions where they rise before falling, compressing and warming on the lee side.

Met Office forecaster Nicola Maxey said: “The northwest of Scotland and Northern Ireland will probably be the only places which don’t see the very warm weather this weekend.

“However it will be a different picture in western Scotland thanks to Foehn winds coming down off the mountains.

“Temperatures will remain above average through next week mainly in the southeast.

“We could see temperatures of 27C (80.6F) on Tuesday in London and in the low 20Cs elsewhere.

“There is the potential for thunderstorms later in the week which will signal a breakdown of the hot weather, but there is some uncertainty around this at the moment.”

Bookmaker Coral has slashed the odds on May tuner put to be the hottest on record from 4-1 to 6-4.

Spokesman Harry Aitkenhead said: “We’ve endured a bleak winter but now with a glorious Bank Holiday on the horizon hopes are starting to rise for the good weather to stick around.

“The forecasts suggest is it will and we’ve slashed our odds on a record breaking May.”

Ladbrokes is offering 7-4 on temperatures hitting 30C (86F) this weekend with 5-2 on the hottest May in history.

Spokeswoman Jessica Bridge said: "The odds are dropping as fast as the temperature is rising, and all bets are off when it comes to the Early May bank holiday weekend being an absolute scorcher.”